Chuck Hagel is disavowing a comment he reportedly made six years ago tying the State Department to Israel, according to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Graham announced on “Fox News Sunday” that Hagel sent him a letter, saying that he did not recall making the remark in a 2007 speech at Rutgers University. In that speech, the former Republican senator from Nebraska reportedly said the State Department was an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister’s office. Graham, also a Republican, called that alleged remark “disturbing,” as critics said it was part of a pattern where President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next secretary of defense has taken stances seen as hostile to Israel.

But Hagel has furiously sought to rebut criticism over Israel and appears to have done so in his letter to Graham, who had sought clarification.

“He did not recall saying that,” Graham said of Hagel’s letter. “He disavows saying that. … If that’s true, that would end that matter.”

“I will take him at his word,” Graham said, “until something else comes along.”